I think red kolinsky sable hair brushes are simply a marvel, one of the best tools the humans have ever produced.
Still I'm very concerned how they get the hair off the sables, and anyway, even if they don't hunt and kill them, what can be the quality of the animals' live in captivity for this process?
I hope not, but I fear it is horrible.
So, does anyone knows if tehere is a true alternative to these brushes. Synthetic ones were going in the right direction a couple of years ago, but were quite a long way to even attempt to get in the same league.
But probably have they now made more progress?
Does someone know?
Can someone recommend a brand?

I'm actually concerned about the killing of weasels for brushes, too (yes, according to my research they DO have to kill them). It's sort of an ethical gray area... I'm no vegan, but then again I feel that it's pointless to kill wild animals when there may be other options.

I've never been able to afford real sable brushes, anyway, but when I was considering investing in some I did a little research and now I feel kind of leery of it.

I'm certainly not going to go around saying people who DO use real kolisnky sable brushes are evil, though!

(Just a thought, what if this animal was listed as endangered? Would people view kolinsky brushes the way they view snow leopard fur coats? )

On the other hand, though... producing synthetic brushes may well require the use of chemicals, petroleum products, etc., which could arguably be just as bad for the environment as killing of a few thousand Kolinskies.

Heck, our dependance on the Kolinsky for its hair may save it as a species because it's a useful animal that we're motivated to keep around!

There are a lot of nice tools around, allowing all kind of great motivating techniques. Still, there is nothing like a Kolinsky Sable Hair Brush for inking comics.I got information from Winsor & Newton. They get the hair for their brushes from "left-over" from the fur-industry. So, as long as there is (most unfortunately) a fur-industry, I guess we might as well use this brushes made out of tiny hairs that nobody else would want anyway.The nice thing is that Winsor & Newton is frank and open about it. They didn't think it was a situation to make jokes about.I thought the sick jokes about animal protection, etc... were pretty bearable, though. Not quite the class you'd expect from creative artists , or worse script-writers, though. I just sincerely hope for your sake that you people don't get re-incarnated in the skin of a sable, a ferret, or a snow-leopard.

Dear Levi-chan,You're very, very funny.The question though was: "Can someone recommend a brand?" This is what this post was meant to be all about.Still, I'm very glad to have been allowed to see how funny you are.

Some sable hair brushes do not result in the death of the animal, but if you REALLY feel badly about it, try out various synthetic hair watercolor brushes. Specifically watercolor brushes, and not brushes for other purposes, because they are meant to be more absorbent and softer. I find that high quality synthetic fibers are more resilient and less prone to breakage and dulling than some real hair brushes. Here is a list of products of that nature carried by the art store Utrecht- who make a fine store brand and are competitively priced.http://www.utrechtart.com/dsp_view_prod ... sID=121112

The thing about a true, high quality sable brush though, is that you should only ever need to buy it once. You ought to have it for the rest of your life. Therefore, you need only ever kill one weasel by proxy, if you know how to take care of your things. A word of warning however, just because it SAYS "pure Kolinsky Sable" on the handle, doesn'tmean it IS. the government does not control use of the term Kolinsky. I could trim my cat's tail, make a brush out of it, and label it Kolinsky, and nobody could legally do a thing. So, only buy whatever Kolinsky brushes you may purchase from very reputable companies.

Hmm... my brush is a Loew-Cornell, it was pretty cheap, I'm sure it's synthetic, I've never inked with anything better TO compare, but it served me well. Still does, I'm just not inking my pages at the moment. ^_^

I don't agree with animals for fashion, as such.... but I eat meat.

I'm not concerned about where a tiny, tiny bit of whatever on my paintbrush came from. One animal's going to do more than one paintbrush. And I think this is synthetic... though we have a couple sable brushes around.

Loew-Cornell actually isn't bad, either, now that you mention them. And yes, those are synthetic. I've tried almost everything at least once, and I find that i develop favorite brushes, but I have yet to develop a favorite brand. each of my favorite brushes were made by different people. Although I have it narrowed down somewhat. I really don't reccommend anything made by Dick Blick. I've used a few other minor brands I wouldn't reccommend, either, but that's the major one to avoid, in my opinion. Of course the point of them is that they're cheap, so what can you expect?

I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I don't know squat about brushes. I use a no-name calligraphy brush that I picked up in Chinatown a couple years ago. I have no idea what it's made of. It's probably past its prime, but I keep using it because I'm cheap.

So what's the deal with sable hair brushes? What's so great about them? From people's descriptions here it sounds interesting, but I want to have a better idea of why it's so good before going out and buying one (see previous comment on cheapness).

Because Kolinsky sable comes from weasels who live in a winter climate, the fur is thick and soft and verrrry absorbent. It is also strong, and a brush will never be "past its prime" if you clean it properly. I still use my mom's brushes from college- and it's been ten years since _I_ graduated college.